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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. game — wild animals
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. chair — a leader
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. capital — a city
  9. wake — a trail
  10. capital — money
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. game — a match
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. bore — to tire
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bore — to drill
  24. chair — a professorship

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com